Marking Territory
by Sir Sapphire04
Summary: As Lion-O and Pumyra grow closer a typical day for the Thundercats leads to some enlightening conversations.


Lion-O was woken by the sound of his door closing and the sensation of a warm body sliding into his narrow bunk.

"You have your own room." He mumbled drowsily, "You might try sleeping there for once."

"I don't like it." The warm, slightly raspy purr of Pumyra answered. Her breath was hot on the back of his neck and she gently stroked the back of his leg with her toes. "Yours is much nicer, better furniture."

"They're all exactly the same." He countered. Every single one was a tiny metal box with a bed that slid out of the wall and just enough floorspace to stand up beside it, Lion-O had seen closets that were bigger. In the _slums_. "Four walls and a bunk. The only difference is I'm here."

"Like I said..."

Lion-O snorted and tried to go back to sleep. She had been doing this for weeks now, ever since that first night she ambushed him and ended up sleeping cuddled against him on the floor. It's not that he didn't appreciated the company, far from it, but he was getting tired of getting weird looks from some of the other Cats. Especially since Pumyra insisted on sneaking in at the middle of the night.

"You seriously need to talk to The General about getting bigger beds in here, otherwise I'm going to start laying on top of you." She whispered in his ear while fighting for space with him.

"How is that supposed to be a threat?" He shot back.

"Mmmm," She sighed. "You're learning..." The heat of her body pressed up against his was almost feverish, yet not at all uncomfortable. She buried her face in the back of his neck and whispered something he couldn't hear before falling asleep. Lion-O followed her example and promptly dropped off himself.

Morning came all too soon for his taste, and as much as he wanted to lay there with Pumyra next to him he knew that if they stayed there too long Tygra would be along to beat on his door until he got up.

"Let him." Pumyra pouted as she clung to him, trying to keep him in bed. "You're the king, he isn't, make it an order. Besides, even kings deserve to sleep in once in awhile."

Lion-O brushed a few stray hairs out of her face. "Believe me, there is nothing I would love more. But there's just too much to do, work that needs done on the tank, scouting ahead for lizard patrols, foraging for supplies now that we've moved to greener country,"

That was a silver lining, She'd been dying to feel grass between her toes again ever since she set foot in the godsforsaken desert.

"Besides, we still have tonight." He added.

"Oh My King..." She purred, "You know just what to say to a girl."

Lion-O checked the hallway to make sure they were clear before they left. It wasn't that he was ashamed of Pumyra, nothing could be further from the truth, but he simply wasn't in the mood for any of his brother's know-it-all comments. Especially the way he flaunts his relationship with Cheetara, that was just hypocritical. As far as he could tell anyway none of the other cats knew about her habitual late-night switcheroo, and he wasn't about to tell them either. It was just about the only privacy they ever got.

It must have been earlier than they realized, the galley was deserted.

"Looks like we're on our own for breakfast." He shrugged.

"What's this 'we' stuff?" She said planting herself down at the fold-out table and looking at him expectantly, her chin resting on her entwined fingers.

"Oh no," Lion-O said as he walked over and pulled her out of her seat and lead her over to the stove. "We all share responsibilities on this tank, you _need_ to do this."

"I don't _cook_." She said matter-of-factually. Her eyes flickered downward for an instant as she added "I don't know how..."

Lion-O was stunned, Pumyra _hated_ to show weakness of any kind. To admit that she didn't know how to do something was unbelievable. Was she finally letting him through the walls she had built around herself? He smiled reassuringly, "It's a good thing we want breakfast then, it's the easiest meal to make."

"I-I can't..." She pulled away.

"Oh yes you can," He insisted as he rooted around the various drawers and cupboards and placed the tools they needed in her arms, "We have eggs, we have cheese, we have bowls and pans, everything we need to make the best breakfast you've ever had. And _you're_ gonna do the work."

Pumyra remained skeptical as he spread everything out for her on the counter. "What am I supposed to do with this?" She asked.

"Take those eggs and crack them into the bowl."

Hesitantly she picked up one of the eggs and tapped it lightly on the edge of the bowl. Nothing happened.

"Oh, for the love of..." He chuckled, he picked up an egg, cracked it one-handed on the bottom of the bowl, and tossed the empty shell into the garbage. All in one fluid motion. "We're breaking eggs, not stacking china, this is _not_ the time for you to start acting dainty."

Pumyra frowned at him "Where did you even learn how to do this?" She asked. "I thought you palace cats were catered to your whole lives."

Lion-O stood behind her as he guided her hands in breaking and mixing the eggs. She couldn't see but could tell from the sound of his voice that his smile had disappeared.

"I never knew my mother..." He said sadly, "She died giving birth to me. The closest thing I had growing up was the palace cook. I would sneak down to the kitchens where she would bounce me on her knee, sneak me treats made from the kitchen scraps, and tell me about what was going on in the ovens and on the stoves, the recipes, the techniques, everything."

From there he let her take over, calling out directions like "swirl the eggs so they evenly coat the pan" and "keep stirring or it'll get too chunky" and "watch the heat!" while he fixed them two cups of tea.

Pumyra had never known another man, another cat like Lion-O. He was so confident and sure of himself, but also humble and compassionate even towards those who would be his enemies. From the moment she had first met him there hadn't been even a single instant where he wasn't there for her, no matter the cost...

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the smell of smoke until it was too late. The cheese she had sprinkled on top of the eggs at Lion-O's instruction had burned and cemented itself to the metal pan. In and instant Lion-O was at her side and removed the pan from the stove, deftly sliding the singed omelet onto a plate. Before she knew what was happening tears stung at her eyes.

_Damn it!_ She thought to herself, _What's wrong with me? This isn't something worth crying over!_ She turned away so he wouldn't see her weakness but all he said was an expectant "Well?"

She turned around to see Lion-O seated at the table, he motioned towards the stool on the opposite side. "You gonna join me?" He asked.

"I burned it, it's ruined." She said.

Lion-O responded by digging in and taking a bite. He chewed thoughtfully before swallowing.

"It's a little burned on the outside, crispy around the edges, but the inside is soft, warm, and creamy. Just the way I like it."

She sat down across from him and tried a bit for herself. He was right, it was a little dark on the outside, but the inside was just fine. "Thanks," she smiled, "It's my first."

It wasn't long after that the other cats filed in and work began for the day. The first order of business was dividing up the day's tasks, Pumyra and Cheetara were on scouting detail since they were the quickest, WilyKit and Kat were on food detail, while Lion-O and Tygra would help Panthro with the work needed on the Sabertank. They would all gather back at the tank shortly before dark and close up for the night.

"I'll see you later tonight, be careful." Lion-O told Pumyra as she prepared to move out. He turned to Cheetara and whispered confidentially "Keep an eye on her, please."

Tygra turned to his brother as they walked up the plank back into the metallic coolness of the Sabertank, "What was that all about?" He said suspiciously.

"Just asking a favor," He explained. "Come on, the sooner we get started the sooner we can finish."

Their job for the day was stripping out and replacing worn power couplings. The Book of Omens was hard on their electrical systems and they tended to burn out quickly. It was dull, cramped, messy work, but aside from Panthro himself only the two of them had the technical know-how to pull it off and had done it several times already.

Lion-O pulled the cowling off the wall and half-climbed inside the tangled maze of pipes and wires. "Okay, I can see it now. Hand me the spanner, would you?"

His brother obliged, slapping it in his palm perhaps a bit rougher than necessary but Lion-O said nothing.

"You and Pumyra were up early today..." He said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Yeah, little bit." His brother grunted. Normally he would have shot back with a comment about Tygra sleeping in, or even a weak "mind your own business," but that candid affirmation somehow disturbed him more than any barb or sharp-witted comeback.

"You think you finally found a girl of your own this time?"

Lion-O pulled his head out of the dark hole and looked at him quizzically. "That's really up to her, now isn't it?" He tossed Tygra the burned out coupling before going back to attach the new one.

"At least she's available this time, right?"

Lion-O pulled himself out again. "What are you getting at?"

"Nothing!" He insisted. "I just don't want to see you miss out on a good thing because you're stuck in the past."

And then Lion-O did something that completely surprised him, he started laughing.

"Oh, I'm sorry Tygra, but it's just too funny. You really do have no idea what you're talking about, do you?"

Tygra fumed at his brother's laughter. "All I know is what I see. One minute you and Pumyra will disappear for a couple of hours, not tell anyone where you're going, the next you're sneaking up to Cheetara and whispering in her ear."

Lion-O looked his brother straight in the eye and place a hand on his shoulder "Tygra, I'm only going to tell you this once: I am completely over Cheetara. You have nothing to worry about. As far as I'm concerned you two deserve each other and should go off and raise fat, happy little cubs, just as soon as we're done with these power couplings. And that whole 'war' thing." With that he was back in that cramped little hole "Spanner again, please."

Pumyra and Cheetara leapt lightly from branch to branch. Keeping to the treetops meant there would be no footprints to follow them back to the Sabertank and helped muddy their scent from any trackers the Lizards might employ. Much to Pumyra's surprise the older woman let her take the lead. Even though she knew the cheetah's speed was useless among the branches she still shouldn't have this much trouble keeping up.

"See anything?" She asked.

"Nothing yet," Pumyra answered. They had spotted abandoned camps to the northwest and tracks from those giant walking tanks they used, but so far they had see neither hide nor scale of the lizard army.

"Good." Cheetara said, having a seat on the branch she was perched on. "I think we've earned a break." She pulled a water skin out of the small pack on her back and took a drink.

Pumyra leapt over to sit beside her, facing the opposite direction just in case. She began digging around in her own pack for something to nibble on when she found a slip of paper in the bottom. On it was scribbled a simple drawing of Lion-O and Pumyra with a heart between them. She held on to that note like it was made from the purest gold.

"What do yo have there?" Cheetara asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." She insisted, slipping the paper into a pouch on her belt (it was too precious to risk putting it in the pack where anyone could find it) and fishing a candyfruit out of the pack.

"We never really had a chance to talk, did we?" Cheetara asked.

Pumyra was puzzled, "Do we really have anything to talk about?"

"It's just, when you first came along I thought you were kind of bitter and unfriendly..."

"Please don't sugar-coat it." She said sarcastically.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry, I made a snap judgment without getting to know you first."

"Well, it's all right." Pumyra replied, "I'll admit I'm not always the easiest to get along with, I can see where you'd get that idea."

"Besides, there must be something more to you if Lion-O likes you." She continued, "I just want to make sure he's not setting himself up for heartbreak..."

"You mean like what happened with you?"

"He-He told you that?" Cheetara stuttered. She didn't think he would want _anyone_ to know about that, let alone another girl he might be interested it.

"Of course, he tells me everything."

Cheetara collected herself before replying, "Then you know that he has a tendency to misinterpret certain signals."

"Then I'll just have to be sure not to send confusing signals." She said playfully, "The direct approach always worked best for me anyway..."

Cheetara bit her lip and stared at the forest floor below, She had apologized to Tygra for being unclear about her feelings but hadn't done the same for Lion-O. Instead she had blamed him for misunderstanding her intentions, not once even considering that she was just as guilty as he was for the misunderstanding between them.

"Well, let's get moving again." Pumyra said as she stood up and sealed her backpack, "We've still got a lot of ground to cover before we can head back."

Lion-O was waiting outside the Sabertank's rear hatch when the women came back from their scouting. "Tygra's waiting for you inside," He said to Cheetara, jerking his head back towards the tank's cavernous entrance. The moment she was inside and out of sight Pumyra pounced on Lion-O and gave him a passionate kiss. "I take it you got my note."

"Yes. Let me tell you what I think."

"Later, I promise. Right now there's something I want to show you." He took her by the hand and led her into the tank.

"Where are we going?" She asked as he walked her past the galley, past the other bedrooms and to an unmarked door at the very end of the hallway.

"I was going to wait until you made your traditional late-night switch but I was too excited." He opened the door and led her inside. There wasn't much to it, from the look of it this used to be a storeroom of some kind, but now the only things in there were two cots set up side-by-side with a single blanket spread across them.

"What is this?" She asked.

"Our room." He answered. "After I finished with the power couplings I cleared everything out of here and moved it to the cargo bay of the Thundertank."

"What about Tygra and the other cats?"

"I already told him and Panthro about the move, I'm sure everyone else will figure it out too. If they need my they'll know where to find me."

"And me?"

"You're free to come and go as you please, it's your room too." He looked at her for a moment trying to gauge her reaction before finally asking "Well, what do you think?"

She rose up on her toes to kiss him again, this time much more forceful than the last. When she finally released him her response was "I think there's only one place I call home, and it's because you're there. Thank-you."

"Ready for dinner?" He asked, nodding towards the door.

"In a minute..." She answered, closing the door, "I still haven't told you what I thought about your little note...'


End file.
